Going Once-Twice-Sold!
by Angel's blue eyed girl
Summary: A Holiday Fic for the A2A exchange on LJ. Based on the prompt by princessme385. Damon is sick of Elena playing with his heart, but before he can leave town, he is wrangled into participating in another Mystic Falls Bachelors Auction-can Elena outbid her competition and win the date with her Vampire?
1. Chapter 1

**Going Once-Twice-Sold!**

**Author: Jen/ AKA/Angel's Blue Eyed Girl/AKA/Jenluvsvamps **

**This is a fic written for the Holiday A2A Exchange hosted by the awesome and amazing Sar (Bad Boys Are Best) and based on a fantastic prompt by Princessme385**

**Rating: In the words of Damon Salvatore—Hello, do you know me? As if I write anything, *but* M stuff! **

**Okay…this fic just got away from me and turned into a massive undertaking. My musie was a bit rusty and she just got on a roll and this 3 part fic is what I ended up with. It is complete and I will post a chappie every day for 3 days.**

**Okay, on with the show…**

**The Mystic Grille:**

Damon sat at his favorite stool at the bar. Liz Forbes was next to him and she had been trying to convince him for the last half hour to offer himself up as a prize in the latest Mystic Falls Bachelor Auction to benefit the Pediatric Cancer Unit at Mystic Falls Hospital. Damon had refused at first. He was in no mood to get up on stage and flirt with the desperate housewives of Mystic Falls this year! It may be Christmas, but Damon was definitely in the 'Bah-Humbug' frame of mind!

Liz was calling in her friendship card with him though, and Damon finally sighed and gave in.

"Fine, I'll do it," he said, sipping his whiskey. He glanced at the Sheriff sitting next to him at the bar. He wasn't exactly happy about capitulating, but Liz was his friend and Damon was well aware he had precious few of those. "But," he added, "I'm only doing this because _you_ asked me, Liz."

Liz Forbes smiled softly at his aggravation. He'd bitch about it, but Damon would come through for her—he always did. "It's for charity, Damon," she reminded him.

His lip curled derisively. "Yeah, well I'm not feeling especially charitable towards Mystic Falls these days."

"Mystic Falls or Elena?" she asked.

"Both," Damon said. Not wanting to get into the complicated mess that was he and Elena, Damon switched gears and gave Liz his patented smirk. "_But_, if auctioning off my gorgeous self for charity will make you happy…" He batted impossibly long lashes at the Sheriff, making her roll her eyes at his flirtatious gesture. "Then I'm in, after all, with Ric gone, you're pretty much my only friend left in this town."

Liz's face showed her sympathy. She knew Damon was still mourning the loss of the History teacher. "Damon…" she started, laying her hand atop his, but Damon didn't want her pity and pulled his hand away.

He picked up his drink again and downed it, before leaning in as if sharing a secret. "Just make sure Old Mrs. Chester doesn't get her hands on me," he whispered, "I was in her bakery yesterday and her fresh baked cinnamon buns weren't the only buns she had her eye on." He waggled his brows, doing that eye thing of his that her daughter and Elena were always complaining about. "If she won a chance to get up close and personal with yours truly, she might not be able to control herself, if you know what I mean…"

Liz chuckled softly, letting him drop the uncomfortable subject of losing his best friend. She understood how hard it was for him to show his vulnerable side and sarcasm was Damon's self-defense mechanism for those emotions. She took a sip of her soda. "I can't control who bids on you, Damon." He pouted exaggeratedly, lower lip protruding, and she couldn't help but roll her eyes at him. "Just as long her cinnamon buns are the only thing you sink your teeth into—we'll be fine," she teased.

Damon's eyes widened comically, until he saw her small smile. "Ha-ha. As if," he snorted, signaling the bartender for another drink. "She's old enough—" He paused when Liz raised a brow. "Okay, so maybe I'm older," he conceded, "but still, she looks old enough to be my Grandmother." The bartender handed him his drink and Damon took a healthy swig before adding teasingly. "Trust me, Liz. You don't need to worry about her virtue."

Liz finished off her soda and got to her feet. "Maybe it's not _her_ virtue I'm worried about." Liz couldn't help going in for the kill. It wasn't often she got the chance to throw Damon Salvatore off balance. "I hear she has a thing for younger guys…"

Damon choked on his drink. "Okay, now I'm scared."

"Oh, I think you can take care of yourself," Liz said, smiling, her affection for him obvious as she patted his hand and thanked him for coming to her aid, once again.

Damon waved her off with a flick of his wrist. "Just doing my good deed for the day," he said airily, "You can thank me later when you give me the intel on Professor Creepy."

Liz nodded. "I'll see what I can dig up."

And with that she was gone, leaving Damon to brood over how badly he did not want to do this damned auction tonight. He'd participated in one a couple years ago and had actually had fun, but that was before Elena had turned him inside out and upside down. Truth was, Damon was tired of being Elena's go-to guy when she had a problem that needed his special brand of determination, but for everything else, it was Stefan she turned to. She'd called his love for her a problem once and Damon was starting to agree with her. He needed a break from Mystic Falls—and not just a couple hours, like he took the last time with Katherine. Look how that turned out—he was still close enough to go running right back as soon as Elena needed him, like the good little lap dog he had become. It sickened him.

Damon shot back the rest of his drink angrily. And in what could be one of his life's most cruelest of all jokes; just when he thought he'd finally gotten the 'Golden Ticket' to the Chocolate Factory that was Elena's heart and they had shared one magical and perfect secret—special night and day, Stefan and Caroline and all their talk about the Sire Bond had come in and yanked it all away!

'Seriously,' he thought, 'had he been born under a bad sign, or what?' Why was he always 'Love's Bitch'?

It was time for a change. Damon didn't want to be a damned consolation prize anymore; the one that rocked their world, but never had their heart. And he sure as hell didn't want to be a damned Sire taking advantage of Elena's newbie Vampire status. Just the thought of it made his skin crawl! He deserved better than that and it was time he gave that to himself and with that thought in mind, he decided he would leave Mystic Falls tomorrow, after he did this last 'good deed' for Liz. She had really been a friend to him—had never turned her back on him, even when he'd given her reason to. The least he could do was add his hotness to what was sure to be a boring affair without him.

For the first time in weeks Damon felt a little like his old self and when a pretty blonde sauntered up to the bar and ordered a Cosmopolitan, he decided it was time to start acting like it too. He flashed his killer smile and bought her drink for her. Within a moment she was sitting in a back booth with him and had her tongue down his throat, a few minutes after that, they were in the bathroom and Damon was having lunch. After he'd compelled her to forget his feeding, Damon made sure to mention if she wanted to continue their conversation, he'd be up for auction tonight.

After his tryst with the blonde, he left the Grille, feeling a little high with the fresh human blood in his system and the new attitude on his life. He refused to think about the fact that he hadn't screwed the girl senseless (as he would have in the past) because he felt too damned good to ruin his mood with that glaring discrepancy in his past behavior and now. He simply refused to admit it had anything to do with Elena, plus, Damon reasoned, there'd be time enough for him to get his mojo back with the ladies after he left Mystic Falls…

********D&E********

**Forbes' Residence**

"What time are you going to the Christmas party at the Grille tonight?" Caroline asked as she hung garland on the tree in her living room.

Elena, who had been given the chore of untangling lights, sighed as she replied, "I don't know. I'm not really in the partying kind of mood, Care."

Caroline wasn't having that. She turned on Elena and gave her friend her most determined look. "You are not sitting around and moping on Christmas Eve. I won't have it!"

Elena rolled her eyes, but caved. "Fine, I can be there by seven."

Caroline practically leaped for joy. "Good. Plus," she said, a sly smile creeping upon her lips. "Stefan is going to be there. Maybe you two can talk…" Elena raised a brow, warning Caroline to stop, but Caroline went into hyper-pleading mode instead. "I know you're still all crazy with this 'Sire-Bond' thing with Damon, but Stefan understands, Elena, and he wants to be there for you while you go through this."

"Caroline, stop. Stefan and I broke up. There isn't anything left to talk about."

"Elena, you and Stefan are epic," Caroline said. "You'll work it out."

Elena shook her head as visions of icy blue eyes and soft lips that could take her to heaven and back filled her thoughts. She forced herself to ignore the tightening in her belly as desire licked upon her nerve endings.

"No, we won't, Caroline. Stefan wants to fix me and I…" She shrugged, "Well, I don't know what I want anymore."

Caroline's eyes practically flipped in their sockets with the dramatic eye roll she gave at that. "Let's just be glad that what you want isn't Damon anymore. I swear we'll all be a lot better off once we figure out a way to break that damned sire bond!"

The lights Elena had been untangling dropped to the floor in a heap at Caroline's words. "Damon did break the Sire Bond. He broke it when he demanded that I leave him alone and stay away from him."

Elena couldn't believe Caroline was going to bring this dead horse out again and beat it some more. She was so tired of everyone telling her that the damned 'Sire-Bond' was the only reason she had feelings for Damon.

"Caroline, you were the one who made me admit there were feelings there, how can you sit here and freak out now that I've finally admitted it?!"

"But Elena, he's a narcissistic ass who uses women like Kleenex! How can you seriously sit there and defend him after what he did to you…and to me?!"

Elena shook her head sadly. Her friend just wasn't seeing the big picture. "That's just it, Care, Damon hasn't done anything to me. He's almost died for me and for you, too! I think it was your boyfriend who bit him when he was trying to save you, right?" Elena took a deep breath, "You're mad about what he did to you a long time ago. It's not me and Damon you're mad at, it's how he treated you and I'm tired of you comparing my relationship with him with what you had with him. It's not the same thing and it never has been." Caroline opened her mouth to reply, but Elena wasn't done yet. "No. Hear me out for once, before you interrupt." Caroline's mouth snapped shut and Elena went on. "You weren't a total victim with Damon. You—"

"I was compelled!" Caroline cried, but her defense was flat and lacked the real heat to make a good argument. Both Elena and Caroline knew Damon had never compelled Caroline to desire him.

"That's not exactly the way it happened and you know it," Elena said, reminding her blonde friend of the truth. "I seem to remember you being more than a little bit happy to rub my nose in the fact that you'd snagged the 'older-hotter brother' when you first hooked up with him." Elena grabbed her purse and jacket. It was time to go. "Look care, I'm sorry he hurt you, but we both know if he hadn't used you—"

"Like a 'happy meal'?" Caroline cut in, her pretty face contorted with anger. "He used me for a chew toy, Elena! And I can't believe you're going to sit there and tell me you don't remember that. _You_ even called him a self-serving psychopath with no redeeming qualities!" Caroline put her hands on her hips, "_Remember_?"

Elena stared at her friend for several moments. She did remember saying that, she also remembered how shamelessly Damon had abused the pretty blonde, and it had been terrible, but Caroline hadn't just fallen for Damon's lethal charm—she'd leaped on him so fast, it had made Elena's head spin at the time. In the last year, Caroline had changed from that vapid girl who didn't care about people's feelings, why couldn't she see Damon had changed too?

"If Damon hadn't hurt you, you know we wouldn't be having this conversation. As a matter of fact, you'd probably be telling me to go for it!"

"But, what about Stefan?" Caroline asked, totally ignoring Elena's comments. "He loves you, Elena…"

"And I'm not saying I don't love Stefan anymore, Caroline! But…what I feel for Damon…it's intense. It's…overwhelming, and I've been fighting it for a long time. I thought you understood that." Elena headed for the door, but paused before leaving. "You know," she said softly, "it's not my break up with Stefan that has me moping, Care…it's my break up with Damon. If you were really my friend, you would know that and help me, instead of bashing him every chance you get, and trying to force me back into a relationship with Stefan."

Caroline's lip trembled as she realized how badly she'd been treating her friend. "Elena, wait," she called, but Elena was gone and she was speaking to an empty room. "I'm sorry…" she muttered to herself sadly.

**Gilbert Residence:**

As soon as she got home, Elena tossed her purse on the island in the kitchen and headed for the fridge for a blood bag. She was still seriously upset with Caroline and so sick and tired of everyone_ telling_ her how she should feel!

Jeremy walked into the kitchen as she was finishing her second bag and for a moment there was an awkward pause; Elena lowered the bag, "Um…sorry, I didn't know you were here," she said, heading for the trash t toss the mostly empty bag away.

Jeremy swallowed down his revulsion. His work with Damon at the cabin had helped him to control his urges to slaughter all vampires. "No," he said, giving her a small smile, "go ahead and finish. It's who you are now, Elena. You're my sister. You're still the same person…"

He shrugged and Elena felt tears come to her eyes. "Thank you," she said, clutching the blood bag.

"Are you going to finish that?" Jeremy said, motioning to the blood bag.

Elena glanced down at the bag in her hand. "Uh…yeah." She turned her back to her brother as she drank the rest of it down, but he didn't try and shove a stake in her heart and she didn't want to leap on him and go for the jugular, so she decided they were making progress.

Again, she had Damon to thank for that.

She dropped the empty bag in the trash and wiped her mouth before turning to face Jeremy again. "So, I can tell the time with Damon went well…" Elena focused on the countertop, tracing its swirls and patterns in the wood with her thumbnail as she asked, "Have you…um…talked to him since you guys have been back?"

Jeremy looked away. He was aware of the uncomfortable position Damon and Elena were in and he didn't want to add to it or make it harder. "He told me not to tell you."

Elena's eyes flew up. "He—what? Why?"

Jeremy sighed. "Elena, he's trying to free you from the bond. If you keep contacting him or talking about him, you'll never be free."

'_What if I don't want to be free?'_ Instead of blurting that out, Elena's brows furrowed and she asked, "Is he…okay?"

Jeremy debated answering that question because 'Drill Master Damon' who had kicked his ass six ways from Sunday up at the cabin for the first week he was there, was far from okay, but surprisingly, Jeremy had found he actually liked Damon, the vampire who had insinuated himself into their lives. Well, once Damon had dropped the 'I'm a Super Dick-Hear Me Roar' attitude, that is. They'd actually bonded in that last week they'd spent at the cabin and Jeremy had seen behind the snarky sarcasm Damon wore like a suit of armor to the man beneath. One thing was for sure, it was obvious Damon really loved his sister and Jeremy had decided that Elena could do a lot worse than Damon Salvatore.

"He's hanging in there," he finally said. "He's focusing on making you safe, Elena, and…making sure I don't turn into a mindless killing machine that wants my sister dead," he added looking down.

"Jeremy, you know it's not your fault…"

"I know, but still…Do you know how it makes me feel to know I jabbed a stake in your neck?"

She nodded. "The same way it felt the night I wanted to attack you and drain you dry." She met his eyes and gave him a sad smile. "We're a mess, huh? I guess Mom and Dad wouldn't be so proud now."

Jeremy shook his head. "I disagree. Elena, you've dealt with more crap than any 18 year old should ever have had to deal with and you've done it pretty well." He shrugged, "I even harder on you after Mom and Dad, because I pretty much fell apart…"

"But, that's changed Jeremy. You're not getting high anymore; all that is behind you now. You can do anything you want now, Jeremy."

He nodded. "I know and that part of my life is over, but I don't want to be a hunter, either. I want to find this cure for you, Elena. I do…" He paused and met Elena's eyes dead on, "but only if it's something you really want—not because someone else is telling you that you need it."

Elena reached across the island and squeezed her brother's hand. "Thank you, Jer…" She had tears in her eyes. Finally, someone was actually listening and asking her what she wanted—not _telling _her what was best for her.

He nodded, understanding the truce that had just transpired between them. No words were needed. Jeremy started to leave the kitchen, but paused in the doorway. "Hey, by the way…" Elena looked up and Jeremy gave her a small smile of encouragement. "Damon called a little while ago to check in on me—you know, make sure I didn't have any urges to kill and all that—but, he said he was leaving town for a few days…" Jeremy shrugged, "Just thought you might want to know."

Elena's heart about leaped from her chest at the thought of Damon leaving, but she kept it together in front of Jeremy. "Did he say when?" she asked, mind racing as she tried to decide how to stop him.

"He said it would be after that auction tonight at The Grille. I guess Sheriff Forbes talked him into being sold off again."

At that, Elena saw red. "What?!" She rounded the island in vampire speed, surprising both herself and Jeremy, because she hadn't intended to. Elena took a step back from where she had her brother pinned against the wall. "Uh…sorry, but what did you say?"

Jeremy glanced at Elena. He remembered Denver and what he had interrupted that night and decided to offer his sister a bit of her own advice. "Elena, you've never been a coward. You never cared what anyone else thought about you. You did what you wanted. If you want to be with Damon, why don't you just do it? You know the guy is crazy in love with you."

She put the island between herself and her brother again, before letting loose. "Do I? He sent me away, Jeremy! He told me it would make him happy if I left him alone, and even though I tried to fight it, it was like I was compelled to go!" She clenched her fists. "It's that damned sire bond! He says something and I do it. I hate it! Everyone keeps saying that's the only reason I have feelings for him—even Damon! What if they're right? I know I had feelings for him before I turned, but…what if everyone else is right and I'm wrong. What if it's this sire bond that created my feelings for him—I could end up hurting us both in the long run!"

Jeremy seemed to contemplate something for a moment before he said, "Hold on, I'll be right back." He headed out of the kitchen and took the stairs to his room, two at a time.

Elena watched him go with a confused look on her face before she remembered Damon was entering that damned auction tonight. Her blood boiled and she grabbed her phone and texted Caroline.

'_Did u kno Damon would be in the auction 2night?'_

Caroline replied almost immediately_. 'Lena please don't hate me im sorry :(_

Elena didn't want to discuss their argument right then, she wanted the truth from Caroline._ 'Care could u plz answer the question…did u kno?_

Caroline's reply was a little slower this time and Elena already knew the truth before she read it._ 'Well yea. Mom talked him n2 it. Y?'_

Elena glared at the phone before texting back. _'U kno Care, u may have issues with him, but did u ever stop n think i might want to kno that? Or how that might bother me?! Guess not! Nyhow thnx 4 nothing! Ur a real friend!'_

Elena debated sending her message, she knew it sounded hateful, but she was so angry at Caroline for all her Damon bashing and for keeping that information from her, that she hit the send button, and then turned her phone off. She didn't want to see, hear or read Caroline's excuses right then.

Jeremy entered the kitchen again. "Elena, come here I want you to read this," he said putting a big, leather bound book upon the center island. He flipped through the pages until he found the page he was looking for and then he spun it so that Elena could read it.

Elena looked down and read the title aloud. "Vampires and the Bonds They Share…" Her head shot up. "Jeremy, where did you get this?"

He shrugged. "It was in some of the books Professor Shane gave me. I just found that part the other night."

"Why didn't you give me this before?"

"I wasn't sure you really wanted to be with Damon, Elena. You always said it was Stefan for you and I thought this might just confuse the issue even more, but now…" He glanced at the clock. Elena still had a few hours before the auction started. "Now, I think you should read that and then make up your mind before he leaves town." He turned to leave Elena alone with the book. "Or worse…he gets sold off to someone like Mrs. Chester at the bakery—you know she has a thing for younger guys, right?"

Elena gave him a mock glare, but there was a wealth of affection behind it. "Okay, go—now, because _that_ is a visual will haunt me for eternity, thank you very much!"

After Jeremy exited the kitchen, Elena pulled up a stool and started to read…

********************D&E*******************

**The Mystic Grille:**

Damon showed up at The Grille promptly at seven, just as he'd promised Liz he would. He was dressed in an Armani black on black suit and tie ensemble, and if the come hither looks thrown his way were any indication, he looked as hot as always. The Grille was in full swing, Christmas lights and decorations adorned the place, reminding Damon of why he never celebrated Christmas—it was too flashy and commercialized. He noticed Carol Lockwood on the stage in perfect Mayor/Hostess mode as she ordered the final touches done to the stage decorations to get it ready it for the auction.

"Damon!"

Damon turned from the stage to see Liz Forbes approaching him. He flashed his killer smile as he took in her little black dress. It never failed to surprise him how different she looked out of her Sheriff's get up. "You look gorgeous Liz…" he teased, "Maybe we should auction you off tonight."

Liz Forbes flushed with pleasure, even as she self-consciously ran her hand down the front of her dress, smoothing out imaginary lines.

He stopped her nervous gesture by grabbing her hand and bringing it to his lips. "Seriously, Ms. Forbes—you look smashing," he told her flirting outrageously, but he knew Liz would take it in stride and she did. She swatted him on the shoulder and told him to save it for his date. Damon tucked her elbow in his. "Maybe, I'll just escort _you _to this little soirée and we'll let these other women eat their hearts out when they see I'm already taken."

"I don't think so. You already have at least one fan in the front row there who specifically asked if you were on the auction tonight."

Damon followed Liz's finger to where she pointed. He noticed the sexy little blonde from lunch, she giggled and waved. He flashed his patented half smile, but when his eyes landed on Rebekah sitting primly in the row, bidding paddle in hand. He mentally groaned and stared, stupefied for a half second_. 'What the hell was Original Barbie doing out of her casket again?'_

Just then he spotted Stefan entering the Grille; quick as he could, he politely excused himself from Liz and made a beeline for his brother. "Putting yourself on the block tonight?" he asked, by way of a greeting. "You know, nothing says I'm single again, better than auctioning yourself off at a bachelors' auction…"

Stefan rolled his eyes. "No. That's more your style than mine, Damon," Stefan retorted.

"Hey, I'm only here because Liz talked me into it."

Stefan nodded. "Yeah, well…I'm not in the auction. I just…needed to get out, you know?"

Damon's sarcasm immediately dropped and he sighed. "Stef, you know, I'll say I'm sorry again, if it would help…"

Stefan shrugged it off. "Don't. I know you are. You love her, too, Damon. I've always known that."

Damon decided to drop the oh-so-sore subject of Elena, Damon turned his brother's attention in the direction of Rebekah. "Speaking of getting out…Wanna tell me why Original Barbie is sitting in the front row with a bidding paddle in her hand?"

Stefan's eyes widened. "I knew Elijah was back…He must have un-daggered her."

Damon's face showed his irritation. "What? Elijah's back! When? And why am I _just_ now hearing about this?"

Stefan shrugged. "You were up at the lake house with Jeremy when Elijah came back. He hasn't caused any trouble…"

Damon snorted and glanced pointedly at Rebekah. "No, of course he hasn't. He's only released the one woman in the world who's actually tried to skin me alive; _and_ on the night when I'm conveniently up for sale to the highest bidder." Damon clapped Stefan on the shoulder. "Thanks brother, good to know you have my back," he said sarcastically and started to walk away.

"Damon, wait!" Stefan said, grabbing Damon's arm.

"For what?" Damon hissed. "For you to tell me you didn't know." He rolled his eyes. "I know that, Stefan, but the fact that you didn't see this coming is what really worries me."

"What, are you afraid she'll buy you for the night?" Stefan retorted, smirking. "It's not like you haven't been there—done that, Damon. Why are you so worried?"

Damon's jaw clenched and he had to count to ten to restrain himself from slapping Stefan upside the head. "It's not me I'm worried about. I can handle that Original bitch and anything she dishes out, but did you ever stop and think about _why _they're all back or have you become such good pals with Klaus—the two of you, arm and arm, searching for the cure—that you've forgotten Klaus only wants the cure so he can use Elena for his personal blood bank?!" Damon eyed his brother fiercely, waves of anger fairly radiated off him. "Or are you so set on restoring her 'Stefan-friendly' settings that you just don't care anymore?"

Damon left his brother standing there and headed straight for the bar. He'd just taken the first sip of his bourbon when Rebekah sidled up to stand next to him. He muttered a soft curse under his breath, but shot her his patented sideways smirk instead of showing his irritation. "Who let you out of your box? From what I heard, your brother had you in a permanent time out."

"Elijah set me free. Unlike Klaus, he is not a first rate bastard."

Damon snorted softly. "That's a matter of opinion," he replied, taking a sip of his drink.

"So," she said, eyeing him up and down, "a little bird told me you were placing yourself in tonight's auction…"

Damon rolled his eyes. "Just cut to the chase, Blondie. If you're planning on bidding on me, just say so, but just so you know…" He leaned in close, close enough to hear her sharp, indrawn breath and know that although she may hate him, she was definitely still hot for him. "Rough sex isn't on the menu for my date tonight," he whispered in her ear, "so if you wanted another round with me…" Damon pulled away and waved her off as if she was a fly he was swatting away, "you might as well save your rubles sweetheart, coz it won't be happening."

Rebekah flinched at the insult, but maintained her composure. "Maybe, I'd like another round of our last play-date…you remember that, do you not?"

"Hanging from your ceiling for twelve hours while you nearly drained me dry? Oh yeah, good times! How could I forget?" He finished off his drink and stood, but before he left, he dug the blade a little deeper. "You may be the Original Barbie-Bitch, but don't think it'll be so easy to ambush me next time and if you go after Elena again, it won't be Klaus sticking the dagger in you—it'll be me." Before Rebekah could react he ran his knuckles gently along her cheek. Her eyes dilated and she sucked in her breath at the physical contact. Damon couldn't help but smirk. "I know you still want me…it just kills you that I don't feel the same, doesn't it?"

Rebekah yanked her head back. "Well, I guess that makes us quite the pair then, considering you know _exactly_ what it feels like to be second choice—don't you?"

Damon winced—that blow had landed below the belt. "Ouch!" Just then they were announcing the bachelors to come to the stage. "Well, this has been…fun, but that's my cue to leave."

He left her sitting there at the bar. Damon knew he had just royally pissed her off, but after the shit she had pulled on him, it felt damned good to put her back in her place—if only for a moment. Plus, he needed to make sure she left Elena alone. Damon may be sick and tired of Elena pulling him close and then pushing him away, but that sure as hell did not mean he wanted her gone! A world without Elena in it—well, that was a world Damon simply couldn't fathom. He didn't even want to try. He loved her despite all her drama!

As if he'd conjured her up, Elena walked in the door at that exact moment. She paused in the entryway, perusing the room and their eyes met and held for several seconds. Damon's eyes roamed her figure hungrily, taking in the short red dress, white knee high boots and he especially thought the Santa hat perched on her head was adorable. Dammit! She looked delicious—like a sexy little Santa's helper and Damon could think of several things she could help him out with. She smiled at him and waved. Damon gave a soft muttered curse and looked away.

"Great!" he growled softly, and seriously debated heading back to the bar before taking the stage. He wasn't nearly buzzed enough to handle an Elena episode tonight.

Unfortunately for him, Carol Lockwood spotted him first and signaled for him to come up to the stage. Rebekah took up her seat in the front row and Damon noticed she had that damned bidding paddle again. He noticed his lunch date from earlier had a paddle and made a point to wriggle his eye brows at her. She flushed and Damon knew she'd be bidding on him tonight, too. But when he saw Elena being handed a paddle, his steps faltered and it took all his concentration to keep it calm, cool and collected as he took the steps to the stage. He watched Elena take her seat in the front row and as Damon looked from Elena to Rebekah—who had also just noticed each other—his only thoughts were to get this entire debacle over with ASAP and get the hell out of Dodge with (hopefully) all his important parts still attached.

********************************D&E****************************

**Okay guys, there was the first part. This is totally complete, but it just got epic as musie got more and more into this fic. Please leave her a tid bit of affection to let her know if she's still got the juice to pull off a fic like this anymore. God-I am so rusty. I swear, musie had cobwebs in her ears! ;)**

**Thanks for all the readers who still remember me and my work. It means a lot. :) I will be posting part 2 on Sunday and part 3 on Monday. Enjoy—I know I loved writing this.**

**Jen**


	2. Chapter 2

**Going Once-Twice-Sold! Part 2**

A fic by Jen

Okay guys, first off, I wanted to thank everyone who took the time to leave a review. Hearing a reader's thoughts and ideas really inspires the author to keep going when they know people like/and or appreciate what they do. Not to mention, my musie is a fickle little thing who needs constant adoration! ;) lol!

Anyhow, thank you again…I will try and get some personal pm's out, but for now on with the show.

**Jen**

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**Previously: A short while before the auction: Gilbert Residence**

Jeremy poked his head in the kitchen to find Elena still hunched over the book he'd given her. "Hey," he said, startling her.

Elena gasped and nearly leaped from her chair. She was a little stunned at how easily her brother was able to sneak up on her nowadays. Guess it was those new 'Hunter' reflexes of his. "Hey," she said in return, rubbing a hand over her eyes. She'd been reading for so long—she was more than a little tired.

Jeremy pointed to the clock. "Unless you're going in that outfit, you better start getting ready. The party starts at 7:00 and the auction starts at 7:30."

Elena leaped from her stool. "Oh no!" she gasped, when she noticed how late it was. She had barely a half an hour to get ready!

Jeremy glanced at the book. "Did it help? Did you learn anything new?"

All of her weariness seemed to melt away as the 'need to hurry' adrenaline rush kicked in. Elena buzzed up to Jeremy and hugged him fiercely. "Yes. Thank you for giving me this! I love you, Jer..." she whispered against his ear, before kissing him soundly on the cheek and blurring up the stairs to her bedroom to get ready for the Christmas party..

Jeremy watched her go, smiling. He headed over to the book and glanced at the page she had been reading. He sat down and began to read…

_The most fundamental of all bonds between Vampires are the Sire Bond and the Blood Bond. _

_Sire Bond~ The Sire Bond is a link that occurs between sire and changeling when the human sired by a Vampire has feelings or a connection with the Vampire that sired them. It does not require a mutual blood exchange to take effect. It simply needs the changeling to have the blood of the Vampire that sired it. This bond is the most fundamental of all bonds between Vampires, because it is the blood link between a Sire and its Childe. However, in order to develop a Sire Bond, the bonded must have (human) feelings of love for the Sire before being changed. A Sire Bond is not always sensual or sexual in nature, but it is deep, and if the changeling was in love with the Sire before their transition, it can become even deeper and more sexual in nature. However, a Sire Bond does not necessarily create feelings of sexual desire or force a newborn Vampire to love its Sire. It is merely a physical manifestation to obey one's Sire, no matter what. A Sire Bond can only be broken if a Sire (by word or command) releases their Childe or by creating a Blood Bond, thus making the Chide a Mate rather than childe. _

_The only bond that is relatively equivalent to a Sire Bond is a Blood Bond._

_Blood Bond~ The Blood Bond occurs when blood is exchanged mutually and simultaneously. It is usually done to achieve a spiritual and sexual connection. A Blood Bond is the deepest bond two vampires can experience, because of the emotional connection a Blood Bond entails. A Blood Bond between a Sire and their changeling will alter the Sire Bond by mating the participants, and therefore, ending the Sire/Childe Bond. A Blood Bond is almost always performed between a married or committed couple, because it is nearly unbreakable. Unlike a Sire Bond which can be broken if the Sire releases the Changeling; a Blood Bond between two vampires is a little more complicated. In order to secure a Blood Bond, both vampires must drink of each other (at the same time) on three separate occasions and there must be both a physical and emotional commitment involved in order to properly secure a Blood Bond. A Vampire cannot force their blood on a human or a changeling three times and achieve a Blood Bond. There must be a deep connection when making a Blood Bond. Unlike a Sire Bond, a Blood Bond cannot happen by chance, and it is not something to be entered into lightly; once a Blood Bond has been consummated, it is usually takes the death of the other bonded to break it. _

Jeremy quickly re-read that last paragraph. Was Elena…? No! She couldn't be thinking of tying herself to Damon even further, could she?! The Hunter in him was revolted at blood sharing and bonding, but the part of him that loved his sister and wanted her to be happy above all else understood. Elena was trying to find her own way to deal with the Sire Bond and how Damon felt about it. If she wasn't Sired to him, but mated instead, Jeremy knew Damon would no longer have any doubts about Elena's love for him. He sat there for some time debating on whether to confront her or not when heard her coming down the stairs.

She paused in the entryway of the kitchen. "Okay, so how do I look?"

Jeremy perused her outfit and nodded his approval. The red dress, white boots and jingle-bell earrings made her look very festive. He pointed to the Santa hat perched on her head. "The hat is a nice touch," he teased.

Elena offered him a self-conscious smile. "Is it too much?" she asked, reaching for it, as if to take it off.

"Nah," he assured her. He thought about asking her about blood bonding, but she looked so happy. For the first time in weeks, Elena was glowing and he didn't want to be the one to extinguish that flame. "Elena, you look great. Leave the hat. It looks…cute."

"Thanks Jer," she said and Elena's beaming smile told him he'd made the right choice. She pulled on a white double breasted pea-coat, grabbed her white clutch, tucked a sprig of mistletoe inside and picked up her car keys. "Okay, I'm ready. I'll see you there, right?"

He nodded. Actually Jeremy wouldn't miss this year's Christmas party for the world. It was going to be very interesting to see the fallout when Elena decided to bid on Damon and he sure as hell wanted to see Damon's face if she announced that she wanted to eradicate his Sire Bond with her by Blood Bonding with him! He could only imagine Damon's utter shock and confusion. Yep—no way was Jeremy missing that!

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**Presently: The Grille:**

Elena was a little hurt Damon had snubbed her, but she supposed she should have expected it. She'd been yanking him this way and that way for so long, and now that she'd finally realized what or who she wanted, he didn't believe it was real. And it was all because of that stupid Sire Bond. Well, she had a way to fix that and prove to Damon that he was the one. She just hoped he gave her a chance. She glanced back over at Rebekah—that bitch had better not even think of bidding on Damon! Elena would never forget what she did to him the last time she had him in her clutches. No way was she letting Rebekah win tonight!

Caroline hurried over and sat next to her. "Elena, I'm sorry."

"Me too, Care. That message I sent was harsh, but I was so angry at you. You keep denying what I'm saying as if I don't know my own heart."

"But Elena, the Sire—"

"I swear Caroline, if you tell me just one-more-time that it's the Sire Bond is making me feel the way I do I will never speak to you again!" she hissed.

Caroline's mouth snapped shut and she backed down. "Okay, no more Sire Bond talk. No more Damon bashing. I get it."

"I hope so, Caroline I really do, because I don't want to fight with you. I love you, but if you love me, you'll accept my choice and not judge. If you can't do that…then I can't keep listening to it."

Caroline hesitated a moment, but as if realizing she was driving her friend away, she finally capitulated with a sigh of defeat. "Deal, but just promise me I won't have to wear some uber-tacky 'Team Damon' shirt or anything—because that just might make me a little crazy!"

Elena chuckled huskily. "I think I can spare you joining his cheerleading squad."

The girls gave each other a brief hug, happy to have avoided what could have been a serious fight.

"So, why are you sitting here?" Caroline asked when they broke apart. "Come join the party."

Elena glanced to the stage and Caroline's gaze followed. She saw Damon standing in the line of bachelors. "Oh my God! You're going to bid on him?!"

Elena felt her stomach drop when Damon's gaze shot right to them and her belly cartwheeled out of control with sudden nervousness. "Care, maybe you can say that a little louder," she whispered harshly, "I don't think the guy standing by the bar heard you!"

"Sorry," Caroline apologized, "but are you sure about—?" Elena started to tense up and Caroline retreated. "I just said no judging." She held her hands out in supplication. "Sorry—not judging. If you want to bid on Damon then—" In that moment, Caroline suddenly noticed Rebekah and her topic flipped as quickly as a kid with ADHD. "What the hell is_ she_ doing here?" she snarled.

"I think she's here for Damon." Elena's grip on the paddle tightened so hard, the wood creaked. "I can't believe she has the nerve to actually bid on him. You remember what she did to him the last time she had him over for a chit-chat, don't you?"

Caroline nodded. She understood Elena's concern, but she wasn't sure she blamed Bex for that one. Maybe trying to bleed Damon dry was a little extreme, but Caroline knew what it felt like to be on the receiving end of Damon's love 'em and leave 'em shtick. It could make a girl nutty!

At that time Carol Lockwood took the microphone and announced it was time to start the auction. Caroline glanced back at Rebekah; the Original gave the other blonde a superior smirk and patted her bidding paddle with one expensively manicured hand. It lit a fire under Caroline and in that instant she made the decision to back her friend. "Hold on, I'll be right back," she whispered to Elena and started to rise.

"Where are you going?" Elena asked, grabbing Caroline's arm and keeping her in her chair. Having Caroline next to her was helping with her nervousness. She didn't want her to leave. "The auction is starting. Don't go."

"To get reinforcements…I'll be right back." Caroline squeezed Elena's hand in reassurance. "I may not agree with your decision, but you're right. You're my friend and I want you to be happy. If having Damon will make you happy, then as your best friend, it's my job to make sure we purchase you the…" Caroline looked like she was choking down a pill or some bad medicine, "oh-so-charming company of one Damon Salvatore tonight."

Elena ignored the sarcasm in Caroline's words, and instead allowed herself to be relieved that Caroline was finally being Caroline again, instead of the even judgier version of Bonnie she had been for the last month or so. "Thank you," she told her friend sincerely.

"Of course…what are friends for, right?" Her eyes drifted to Rebekah and she shot the Original an all-too-fake smile. "Plus, we sure as hell don't want her to get her claws into him again."

Caroline had no sooner exited, than Stefan appeared at her side. "Hey, how are you?"

Elena swallowed back the unladylike curse that wanted to pop right out of her mouth. Instead, she smiled demurely. "I'm fine, Stefan. Really." What she really wanted was for him to be gone before they had to have the awkward 'are you bidding on Damon?' conversation.

But his next words made it clear that she would have no such luck avoiding the topic. "So, what are you doing up at the auction stage?"

Elena floundered for a moment, and finally Stefan put it together. "Oh," he said quietly, "you're here for Damon."

"Stefan…" Elena said, feeling terrible as she watched him struggle to keep his pain at bay. She reached for his hand, but he yanked it away from her grasp.

"Don't Elena!" he hissed. "Don't try and comfort me while you're ripping my heart out!"

Elena looked away, unable to watch him suffer, yet equally unable to offer him what he wanted. "I'm sorry," was all she could say, and she meant it. She had never intended to hurt Stefan, but she couldn't help the way she felt anymore and she was tired of fighting it.

"So am I," he muttered darkly, before getting up and leaving without a backward glance.

After Stefan left, Elena turned back to the stage only to find her gaze caught and held by Damon's predatory stare. He was looking directly at her, head tilted to the side as if trying to figure out what she was up to. She smiled at him, but he looked away again. Elena sighed. He was mad at her, that much was obvious, but if all went according to plan he'd have to see that her feelings for him were real—that she wasn't just yanking his chain again and hopefully, they could get past this and start over.

With Damon's attention elsewhere, Elena allowed her gaze to linger on him for a moment. He looked incredible in all black. His silky dark hair had that 'just-got-out-of-bed' look that made her think of hot, rough sex, and now that she intimately knew the delicious body that lie underneath that suit, it only made it worse. Elena squirmed in her seat; memories of Damon's mouth on her body, licking her, sucking her, biting her… assailed her, causing desire to pool between her legs. Elena swallowed hard. She wanted to experience his brand of passion again, so badly. It was killing her. She felt on fire. She uncrossed and re-crossed her legs, but the burning heat between her thighs refused to be extinguished. She felt a trickle of sweat glide down her temple and finally resorted to using her paddle to fan her face as her body continued to burn hot with arousal.

As if on cue, Damon turned her way again and it was as if he knew the state she was in, like he could see the sweat at her temple or sense the wetness between her thighs, because he didn't look away this time. He stared at her intently and it took everything Elena had not to climb up on that stage when his nostrils flared and his normally icy blue eyes darkened to near black and in that instant, it was obvious he did indeed realize how aroused she was and was feeling it too.

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Up on stage, Damon was barely hanging on to his control. She was brazenly eye fucking him, stripping him with her eyes and it was making him hard and uncomfortable. When she starting squirming in her seat and fanning herself, it was like a mule had kicked him in the gut, his lust for her burned so fast and hot. Some of his more primal instincts to take and conquer were struggling to be free and—and he put a break on his thoughts right there. It wouldn't do to suddenly leap off stage, toss Elena over his shoulder and rush them both back to the boardinghouse where he could fuck her on or against every surface of the damned house!

Liz would not be happy with him for making such a scene at the Charity Auction. To add to his consternation, Carol Lockwood began announcing the bachelors.

_Great! Now, I get to parade myself in front of the women of Mystic Falls with a fucking hard-on! At least I have nothing to be ashamed of—eat your hearts out ladies and yes, that's all me. Just ask the brunette in the front row mentally fucking with me—she can tell you!_

He finally forced himself to break eye contact with Elena. If he didn't look, maybe he could get his body under control. Damn her for being able to twist him into knots so complex, he didn't think he'd ever fully unravel!

Mayor Lockwood called his name just as Damon turned his back to the crowd and quickly adjusted his trousers. He made a show of turning back to face the women, flashing his best come-hither smirk as he walked across the stage towards Carol and her ever-trusty microphone.

He'd done this last year—he was familiar with the routine.

She asked him the same rather mundane questions about his astrological sign and personal interests. Damon gave the patented responses, all the while playing his audience.

"So…what makes you a catch, Damon?" Carol asked.

Damon smirked. The first time they'd done this, Carol hadn't a clue he was a vampire. Now she knew, but here she was—willing to sell him off despite what he was. He smirked. "Have you seen me?" he replied glibly and the crowd laughed and howled their approval.

Damon was ready to exit stage left, but Carol wasn't done. "So, Damon…" she said, stopping him in his tracks, "Tell us something about yourself that we don't already know."

So, Carol wanted to make him squirm, did she? Well, she has never seen him in action. Damon could roll with any punch she threw at him.

"Well Carol," he said, taking the microphone right out of her hand. He turned to the audience. "Some of you might know this…" His eyes met Elena's. "I love hot, wet kisses that seem to last a lifetime. I want a woman who knows what she wants and isn't afraid to go after it. That is a real turn on." Some of the women in the audience started whistling and Damon paused, waiting for the audience to quiet down. He lowered his voice to a dirty whisper. "But my biggest secret is…" He flipped his head back to Mayor Lockwood. "Carol you _are_ asking me what my biggest secret is right?" Carol didn't have a chance to reply, several women in the audience answered a resounding 'yes!' for her.

Damon's smile could only be called filthy. "Okay, my dirtiest secret is I like to bite…"

There was a collective gasp in the audience.

"Not hard…" Damon added, having a hard time to not laugh out loud as the vampires and humans (who knew what he was) stared at him, slack jawed at his audacity, but women in the audience, (the ones who didn't know what he was) they were all practically salivating at the bit of kink in his confession.

Damon waited as the response to his comment died down, before he carried on. "But, I promise to never take more than a nibble…" he added mischievously. The blatant sex appeal oozing off him had most of the women in the audience checking their wallets to see how much cash they had on hand!

Carol Lockwood looked like she was about to give birth to a baby cow, the women in the audience started wolf whistling and giving him cat calls and Elena looked like she was about to run up on stage, toss him to the ground, and have her way with him or rip into the other women in the audience sexing him up with their eyes. Damon couldn't help it. He had to grin. Yes, he was still the eternal stud and he had his audience eating out of the palm of his hand. His work here was done, and the cherry on top, was seeing Elena so out of control. It made him feel just a _little bit_ better to know that he could work her up like that, too—let her get a taste of her own medicine for once!

In the audience; Elena was clenching her fists so tightly, her nails were digging into her skin. Her skin felt flushed and tingly. Her belly was clenching almost painfully with lust and she was pretty damned sure Damon had done that last bit especially for her; on purpose, to set her even more on fire!

When the bidding started, Elena had to suffer through far too many (in her opinion) snore-worthy bachelors, before his name was finally called. She was on pins and needles the entire time, because (of course) Damon happened to be last—figures!

"Did I miss it?" Jeremy asked, suddenly dropping into the seat next to her just as Damon's name was called.

"Jeremy!" Elena put a hand over her silent heart, more out of habit than anything. "You scared the life out of me!"

Her brother flashed a smirk that made her think maybe he was spending _too_ much time with Damon. "Elena, the life was scared out of you a while ago."

"Ha-ha," she said, but she couldn't help but grin. If he could joke about her vampirism, maybe there was hope for them yet.

"So, all of these women are bidding for Damon?" Jeremy commented, glancing around at the still packed audience.

"Yeah," Elena grumbled, not all surprised that she had several fervid competitors for Damon's company tonight.

Jeremy pointed out Old lady Chester. "Watch out for her," he said, "we were in her shop the other day and she gave him like six free cinnamon buns and asked him if he was single."

Elena rolled her eyes, "Yeah, I know. She's a menace and needs to be stopped!"

"Huh?" Jeremy said, "I don't think asking him if he's single exactly makes her a menace, Elena."

Elena refused to tell her younger brother how she overheard the woman mention a certain part of Damon's anatomy she'd love to glaze up and lick clean—it had been too disturbing of an image the first time around. "Let's just say she's horrible and there's no way she's getting within a hundred yards of him and leave it at that," she muttered.

Just then Mayor Lockwood asked for the bidding to start and Elena instantly shushed anything else Jeremy was about to say.

Rebekah started the bidding at $250.00. Elena upped it to $300.00. Mrs. Chester chimed in with $350.00 A little blonde who was making the most annoying moon eyes at Damon raised the bid again and so it started…several women made bids on him, but by the time Rebekah declared her offer of $2,500.00, all but Elena, Rebekah, the little blonde in the front row and the God-awful Old Lady Chester with her dirty mind had dropped out. Elena felt the sweat trickle between her breasts. She fanned herself furiously as she mentally calculated how she could come up with the money to outbid Rebekah and Mrs. Chester the Molester, who upped the ante to three thousand dollars! The little blonde dropped out at that point and just when Elena had decided she'd just have to dip into the trust her parents had set aside for her, Caroline maneuvered past Jeremy to plop down on Elena's other side.

"Here," she said handing Elena a wad of hundred dollar bills. "It's over $5,000.00. Outbid that Original bitch and that creepy old lady from the bakery!"

Jeremy's eyes widened. "What did you do, Caroline—rob a bank?!"

Rebekah upped her bid to $3,500 dollars, but Elena was staring dumbfounded at the money in her hand.

"Where did you get this?" she asked her friend, stunned.

"I'll explain later…"

Just then Carol started announcing the 'Once-Twice…"

Elena leaped to her feet. "Five thousand dollars!" she called out, far more loudly than she had planned.

You could almost hear a pin drop and Elena was glad she couldn't blush anymore because she'd have been beet red as every eye in the place turned to stare at her. Jeremy started chuckling softly when Damon's jaw had literally dropped and Elena shot her brother a glare for laughing and quickly sat back down, feeling utterly embarrassed at making such a scene!

Mrs. Chester finally set her paddle down with one last longing look in Damon's direction, but Rebekah's smirk told Elena she wasn't done yet. She raised her paddle. "Six Thousand," she said, shooting Elena a look that clearly dared the younger vampire to top that.

"Seven," Elena retorted, all in now. There was no way she was letting the Original Barbie win.

"Eight thousand," Rebekah said, confident Elena would back down.

Elena was just as sure Rebekah didn't know her as well as she thought she did and proved it when she said, "Nine thousand!"

Elena happened to catch Damon's eye and flushed to see he wasn't staring at her in shock anymore. No, he was smirking—laughing even. Elena didn't care. She was determined Rebekah would not get her paws on him tonight or any other night—even if he did want to act like an ass while she was trying to save his!

Rebekah was about to out-bid her again, when Elijah swooped in and stopped her from raising her paddle. He whispered something in her ear, and Rebekah furiously whispered a reply, but the stern look on Elijah's face spoke volumes. It was obvious, he was tired of the spectacle his sister was making of herself and was putting a stop to it.

Rebekah pouted, but when she turned to glance Elena's way, she looked murderous and if looks could kill, Elena would be dust in the wind! And yet, the blonde Original still got up, tossed her paddled on her seat and flounced off in a huff. Elena had won.

Elijah dipped his head politely at Elena and just as quickly as he had appeared, he faded back into the crowd surrounding the auction.

Mayor Lockwood waited for another offer, before declaring Elena the winner for a whopping total of $9,000.00. Elena squirmed in her seat again as Carol Lockwood announced that Elena's bid was a Mystic Falls all-time record. Not only a record, but Elena's bid had (single-handedly) made Damon's auction more profitable to the Mystic Falls Pediatric Cancer Unit, than each of the other bachelors combined.

Once it was over, Elena rose from her seat, embarrassed, yet euphoric over her win.

Jeremy disguised his laughter with a cough. "Well, I hope you've been saving your pennies—you're not planning on selling the house to buy Damon, are you?" he teased.

Elena stuck her tongue out at him, much like she used to when they were children. "Very funny," she said and headed over to the stage to claim her date.

Caroline grabbed her arm, stopping her. "Elena—nine thousand dollars?!" she screeched like a mad hyena on crack. "Have you lost your mind?! I only gave you five. Where are you going to come up with the rest of the money?"

The words had barely left Caroline's mouth when Klaus appeared at her shoulder. His smirk and the casual way he settled his hands on Caroline's shoulders, made Elena feel nauseous. "Nasty bit of a bidding war you got into, Elena." He glanced back over his shoulder at his sister who was in a heated argument with Elijah. "Ahh Rebekah, she never does know when to stop when she wants something and it appears she does seem to have a bit of a thing for your Damon." He glanced to Caroline. "I take it the five thousand I gave you is no longer going to suffice and now you will need more."

Elena's eyes widened and Caroline looked like she wanted to drop through the floor. "You got the money from him?!"

Klaus made a tsking sound. "Well, if you no longer have need of my help, say so." He shrugged. "I suppose we could always let Rebekah take him home, but I must warn you…she has a terrible habit of breaking her playthings."

Elena squared her shoulders. She would rather drain her bank account dry than accept Klaus' money. She handed him the wad of hundreds back. "Thank you for the offer, but I can cover my own debts."

"Elena!" Caroline cried, "You can't afford this!"

Elena shrugged. "I'll manage," she said tightly.

Elena realized Caroline had only been trying to help, but she was more than a little disturbed at how easily the blonde was letting Klaus into their inner circle and relying on him to bail them out. Elena refused to be in his debt. Klaus would be the type to lord it over her and Elena was finally free of his threat, she wasn't about to hand him another form of power over her again. She did find it bizarre though, how Caroline could seemingly forgive Klaus, who had actually killed Elena once upon a time, but Elena was supposed to hate Damon for eternity for breaking Caroline's heart and using her for a snack bag! Yeah, what Damon had done had been bad, but hello—he hadn't actually killed Caroline!

Elena was about to say as much, when she spotted Damon leaving the stage. With the possibility he was about to make a break for it, Elena quickly decided now wasn't the time to call her friend out on her hypocrisy. "Excuse me," she said instead, "but I have a bachelor to claim." And without another word she made her way over to the stage and Damon—her knees were knocking a bit, because he didn't exactly look inviting when he noticed her heading his way.

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He wasn't happy and didn't even say hello before unleashing his frustration on her with both barrels. "Blowing nine thousand dollars just to get me to talk to you is probably one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen you do!" he snapped, rolling his beautiful baby blues. "And I've seen you do some pretty stupid things, Elena! What the hell were you thinking?"

Elena reacted as if he'd slapped her, tears sprang to her eyes and she looked down for a moment, but then her own stubborn nature rose up and her chin lifted. "I thought it was money well spent if it kept you from being chained to Rebekah's ceiling for the night—or worse—to her bed!" she spat back, chest heaving with the effort not to cry. "You're welcome, by the way!"

He took hold of her arm and dragged her off to the side of the stage. "What kind of game are you playing?"

"I'm not. I was trying to prove a point. I guess it failed."

She looked so earnest. Was she really trying to prove to him her feelings were real? Damon was suddenly unsure of her motives and he didn't like being unsure of anything—especially Elena. As usual, when he felt flustered, his natural sarcasm came to the fore. "Nice hat," he said, smirking. "Did you put some quarters in the meter outside for the reindeers or are they parked on the roof?"

Elena immediately reached up and tugged the hat off, feeling silly all of a sudden. "Why are you being such an ass?!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said in a mock whisper, "is this the part where I'm supposed to be eternally grateful?" He shook his head, "See, I'm always confused on what my role is—one minute I'm the villain in this little teen drama, and the next, I feel too much and my feelings are a problem. Maybe you should explain my role to me, Elena, that way I won't be so damned confused all the time!"

Elena wanted to smack him. God! He drove her crazy! "That was a long time ago, Damon! I've been trying to show you how I feel for weeks. You're the one pushing me away this time. _My_ feelings are obviously the problem this time, so don't act as if I haven't been trying. I have!"

Damon's jaw hardened. "Yeah, you've been trying after the oh-so-convenient Sire Bond kicked in, but before that—just a couple of weeks ago, as a matter of fact, you were telling Stefan that making the choice to go back to him was the best decision _ever!" _Damon's eyes blazed, "Even though that decision killed you! Remember that?!"

Elena couldn't refute his words. She_ had_ said that to Stefan. She wasn't sure if she'd said it to ease Stefan's guilt or her own, but she couldn't dispute the fact that she had indeed said the words, and now she couldn't take them back, no matter how badly she wished she could. "I remember," she confessed, "but I also remember being terrified of you and what you made me feel, too. You consume me, Damon! When I'm with you…it's like you take all my focus. I'm on a never ending roller coaster ride of emotion and I just felt overwhelmed, so I chose the safest option."

He shrugged sadly. "See, to my ears, the way I make you feel sounds like a bad thing, Elena." He ran a hand over his face. He looked tired and weary all of a sudden. "Look, I'll get you the money to pay for this little fiasco tonight. It was ridiculous and foolish, but you shouldn't have to break your open your piggy bank just for me. Thank you for getting me clear of Old Lady Chester's mitts and out of and the Original Barbie's clutches—that alone is worth the cash—but, let's just end this right now, okay? You think you have feelings for me because of the bond, if it wasn't for that, you'd be safe and snug in the arms of your epic love Stefan, and I think we both know it."

Elena shook her head. "No, that's not true. Not anymore. "

"Elena, don't make me prove it by commanding you…" he warned.

"Then release me," Elena blurted out.

"I am!" he snapped back. "I started the process as soon as I commanded you to stay away from me…and yet, here you are. You're making it harder, Elena!"

"Exactly," she said with a smirk. They both chose to ignore the double entendre he'd just let slip. "See, it's not as strong. I wanted to see you, so here I am. We can make this work. I know we can. Just give me a chance."

Damon looked torn. He wanted to, but he was tired of getting called to Elena's side, only to be smacked on the nose like a disobedient dog and sent packing. "I can't," he said, almost sadly. "Not anymore. I'm done being your consolation prize."

Elena didn't know what to say or do to make this right. She had thought he'd see how badly she wanted him if she showed up tonight and bid on him, but it had turned into a dismal and embarrassing failure.

She looked so dejected, Damon came within an inch of caving and giving in to her, but he had his pride and he couldn't let himself be walked on by this girl any longer. "I'll be leaving town for a few days. When I get back, I'm moving up to the Lake House with Jeremy for a bit to continue his training." Elena started to shake her head, but Damon plowed forward, not giving her a chance to ask him not to. "I think after a few more weeks this Sire Bond thing should have weakened enough that I can release you, without you feeling the loss or Sire rejection that can happen if a newbie Vamp is released too soon."

Elena was getting desperate. He was talking about letting her go forever and she was thinking of bonding with him forever. Why did they always have to be so many pages apart, when they both were reading the same damned book?!

"So, just hang tight a few more weeks," Damon was saying, drawing her attention back to him. "And as long as we stay away from each other—you'll be free by Valentine's Day. Think about it, you and Stef can make up, and the world will be filled with puppies and rainbows all over again."

Elena didn't want puppies and rainbows! She wanted Damon. "What about my date? I still get that, right?" He was about to refuse, she could tell, so she added, "its tradition, Damon, you have to go."

"You can't be serious?" He was incredulous she would even suggest it. If she wanted to torture him—why hadn't she just let Bex have at him? At least the Original's brand of torture only hurt physically. Elena's cut much deeper. "No," he said, self-preservation kicking in. "I'm not doing this anymore." He shook off her hand. "Turn me in to Mayor Lockwood if you want…but, unless there's some kind of auction-police that's going to swoop in here and force me to go, then I'm not going on a date with you. So, you can just forget whatever scheme you're hatching."

Elena grabbed his arm when he went to walk around her and leave her standing there. "It's a Charity Event. You have to go by the rules. I won the date with you fair and square."

"Elena, I don't think you're listening to me. I don't care. I'm not going."

Elena's nails dug into his jacket, desperation was making her hyper. "Wait! Just…just give me the one date and then if you still insist I stay away…" She swallowed hard as she debated making a promise she had no intention of keeping, but he looked so serious and so ready to walk out the door, Elena did what she had to do to make him agree. "Then I'll leave you alone. I promise. I'll stay as far away as you want. Just give me one night—one selfish little night."

Damon's eyes narrowed. She was hitting below the belt using his own line back on him, but then again, Elena always knew where to get him and make it hurt. He didn't see a way out of this without her causing a stink, so he agreed. "Fine," he sighed, "one date. But, no funny business," he added sternly.

"Define funny business," she said.

He rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean. No talk about how the Sire Bond doesn't matter and how you suddenly know I'm your one true love and definitely no sex, Elena."

It was like he could read her thoughts and Elena almost wilted under his stare. Instead, she crossed her fingers behind her back and solemnly promised to adhere to his 'no-funny-business' clause. She knew it was wrong, but she would have promised just about anything at that point. Damon was actually leaving her and Elena was starting to feel the panic setting in.

Damon nodded. "Good. I'll pick you up tomorrow night at 7:00. Does that work for you, milady?"

It was said with sarcasm, but Elena was joyous just the same. It didn't matter that he was going out with her under duress, she was going to get her chance—that was all that mattered. "It works perfectly." He started to leave, but she stopped him again. "Oh and Damon…"

He turned around with a sigh, but kept one eye on the door, definitely itching to leave. "What?" he asked, looking and sounding harassed.

Elena thought he looked adorable. She'd never loved him more. "I don't need you to pay for my win tonight. I can cover it."

"Elena…" he started, but she stopped him with a wave of her hand.

"My parents didn't leave me and Jeremy destitute. We have a sizeable trust and now that I'm legal I can dip into it." She felt better already. She was taking control of her own destiny for once in her life. "I won you fair and square and I intend to…" Her words trailed off as she realized how that sounded.

"Pay for my services," he supplied, giving her that devilish, Damon Salvatore smirk and wriggling his brows at her for the first time tonight.

Elena felt heat race up her spine at that innuendo and butterflies went off like fireworks in her tummy when he did his eye thingy. She hadn't realized, until then, how much she'd missed his flirting. "Maybe, I will. I do have quite the stash. How much more would it take to pay for further services…" she teased back, a little appalled at herself for saying such a thing, but hoping he'd hang around instead of leave if she showed him she could be fun and flirtatious, too.

Damon's eyes bulged for a moment, but then he laughed. "Oh Elena, don't write a check you can't cash, lover," he said. "I got moves that would have you putting your house on the block!"

Elena's knees wobbled and it seemed like lightning was racing through her veins rather than blood. "I know," she breathed, staring at his mouth.

The air became heavy and thick with the sudden sexual tension between them and Damon steered the topic back to safer ground. "Are you sure about the money? Because, I don't have a problem covering it," he told her, hoping she'd leave off the sexual banter.

Elena let him run for the hills. At least he hadn't completely shot her down. It gave her hope. "I'm sure. I'll make the arrangements with Mayor Lockwood."

Damon could see she was indeed serious and let it go. If she really wanted to spend nine thousand dollars to go out with him—well, who was he to deny her? He ignored that niggling little voice in his head that told him maybe she really did have real feelings for him; after all, she sure was going above and beyond the call of duty to prove it. A part of him wanted to listen and give in, except the last time he'd done that and allowed that voice to guide him, he'd ended up on a deserted road, destined to die alone after this girl had told him, that while she 'cared about him'—she'd never fallen out of love with his brother. And then, to add a side of vicious to that cruelest of jokes, instead of dying himself, he'd had to watch one of the only true friends he'd ever had on this planet die in his place and _know_ that if it was happening, it was happening because the girl he loved had somehow died too!

That night had really nearly killed him, and not because of the threat to his line, that night Damon had been massacred emotionally. So, yeah, he was done listening to that idiotic voice. It was obviously a masochist!

"Okay," he said, nodding. "I'll uh…leave you to it then." He reminded her he'd pick her up at seven pm the next night and then he was gone, leaving Elena standing there with a pocketful of wishes for the night to come, yet terrified she'd used up all her lucky stars for the year, and that maybe, just maybe, she had actually lost him this time.

********************D&E**************D&E***************D&E*****************

**Okay guys, there is part 2. I know Damon is a little harsh, but in my opinion, he always gives in to her far too easily, and I wanted our favorite vamp to make her work a bit for him for once…**

**I also know I played a little fast and loose with Sire Bonds and Blood Bonding, but it suited what I'm going for here, so I changed them a bit to make it work. Don't flame me for it. :)**

**Okay, so let the musie know if she's on the right track…she is such a needy thing. ;) lol!**

**Part 3 will be up tomorrow. **

**Jen**


	3. Chapter 3

**Going Once-Twice-Sold! Part 3**

**Author: Jen/aka/Angels' Blue Eyed Girl**

**Rating: This chappie is a definite M people!**

**I wanted to thank of all you who inspired me and my musie to make this fic as perfect as we could. I went over it again last night and even changed it a bit and re-edited it. After getting such a sweet review from the author of this prompt –Hey Chelle—I really wanted to make sure this was purrfection. **

**Hope I lived up to the expectations—like I said, musie is a bit rusty. I hadn't written any real smut in a while, so let me know what ya think…**

**Jen**

**Okay, on with the show…**

**********************D&E******************D&E******************D&E********************

**Gilbert Residence: Elena's Bedroom.**

Elena was applying the finishing touches to her ensemble when Jeremy poked his head in her room. "You didn't tell Damon about the blood bonding," he said without preamble.

"Jeremy!" Elena gasped, almost dropping the hoop earring she was attempting to get in her ear. "You are getting as sneaky as a vampire, you know that?" she accused, finally securing the large dangling hoop in her ear. She gave herself a long scrutiny in the mirror, checking and double checking her appearance.

Jeremy rolled his eyes. "You look fine. Come on, Elena, you always look great." Like a homing device, he zeroed in on the subject he wanted to discuss. "Why didn't you tell Damon about the Blood Bonding?"

"Because," she explained, pulling out a pair of gold heels that would match her dress. "Damon would have blown me off." She held up the Greek style high-heeled sandals, debating if they would look right with her dress. It was a sleeveless V neck design, with a golden mesh top and a fitted black skirt that ended just above the knee. It was sexy and chic, and Elena loved the way it looked on her. "Do these match?" she asked, turning towards Jeremy.

He shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. They're gold—the dress has a gold top. That's a match, right?" It was obvious he hadn't a clue.

Elena rolled her eyes. Where was Caroline when she needed her? She glanced at the clock. She had fifteen minutes before Damon arrived; she decided to wear the shoes. She sat at the foot of her bed to slip her feet into her sandals. "Jeremy, please don't tell him. I want to, but I want it to be special." She buckled the straps and stood up. "I want him to know its real. I need him to believe it before…"

Jeremy waited. He already knew what Elena was going to say. Rose had pretty much said it that night coming home from Denver, but he needed to hear it from Elena's own lips before he'd believe it.

"Before what, Elena?" he prompted.

"Before, I tell him I'm in love with him," she admitted softly.

Jeremy nodded. It seemed the only person really surprised with her feeling was Elena. He heard a car door slam outside. "He's here," he said and then laughed softly as his sister went into a tizzy of sheer panic.

Elena blurred around the room, making sure her hair was perfect and her dress was just right and her earrings swung just perfectly. She sprayed some perfume in the air and then walked through it so that it settled on her body like a mist.

As he watched her, Jeremy gave a snort at all her last minute preparations. "Jeez, no wonder we're always waiting for you guys," he said. "I'll go open the door for Damon. Come down when you finally get your dress to hang _just right_!" he teased, before heading down the stairs.

Elena heard Jeremy let Damon in. As she listened, she could hear the affection in Damon's voice as he talked to her younger brother and it warmed her heart how they'd formed a friendship of sorts. She gave herself one final glance, fluffed her hair again and quickly exited the room to greet Damon. Her stomach flip-flopped as she walked down the stairs. She could hear him and her brother in the kitchen talking. They both turned her way when she entered the room.

Elena's eyes roamed Damon's devastating physique, taking in the dark jeans, black button down and leather jacket he was wearing. He looked good enough to eat and Elena couldn't help the way her gaze settled on his lips. She wanted to kiss him, but he might as well be holding up a STOP sign. He, in no way shape or form, encouraged her to even hug him, much less plant one on him.

"Hey," she said softly.

"Hey back," he said. There was an awkward silence for a moment until Damon pushed away from the island and came to stand before her. "Ready?"

Elena nodded, trying to keep her disappointment at his lack of emotion at bay. Usually, he would have complimented her on her appearance, but tonight…nothing.

He glanced to Jeremy. "Try working on some of those exorcises we've been practicing, okay?" Jeremy nodded and muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'Yes Drill-Master Damon-sir' and Damon rolled his eyes. "Just do it. We won't be late," he added, much to Elena's further disappointment.

There was sympathy in Jeremy's eyes and Elena turned away, afraid her brother would see through her barely there defenses and comment on how badly Damon's aloofness was hurting her. "Bye Jer," she said huskily and quickly exited the kitchen before she broke down and started to cry on the spot.

"Dude, do you have to be such a dick to her?!" Jeremy hissed as soon as Elena left.

Damon shrugged him off. "First of all," he replied to the younger man, "what's between me and your sister is not your concern. Second, your sister has stomped on my heart more times than I can count. The damned thing is practically road kill under her tender care, so don't ask me if I need to be a dick, because, yeah, I kind of do. It's the only thing I have left," he said and with that he left, leaving Jeremy staring after him with a sad expression on his face.

Elena was waiting for him when he exited the kitchen. "Maybe, you were right before…maybe, this isn't a good idea. I'm sorry I forced you into this Damon. If you want to call it off—"

Damon put his hand on the small of her back and ushered her towards the front door. "Elena, I have reservations already—just get your jacket, so we can get this over with, okay?"

And, with those words, Elena's hope went down in a fiery blaze of dismal defeat. He didn't want to give her a chance. He was leaving her. Tears flooded her eyes and she could barely see as she grabbed her jacket. She allowed her curtain of hair to hide her face as Damon escorted her out the door and down the walkway to his Camaro.

Damon tilted his head, watching her as she slid into the passenger seat of his car. She wouldn't look at him and her pain was making his senses flare up. He shut her door and stood there for a moment. He was being a first class ass-hat, but he simply couldn't find it in himself to stop. She had broken him over and over. Maybe, he was just too damaged to care anymore.

When he slid into the driver's seat, her shoulders were shaking silently. She tried to wipe her eyes before he could see, but he could practically smell her tears. It made his heart ache. Fuck! He could handle werewolves—hybrids and Originals with the bad habit of trying to kill him, but Elena's tears brought him to his knees and he was powerless to stop his reaction.

"Elena," he said softly, turning to her and tucking her hair back so he could see her face. Sure enough her eyes were red rimmed and watery. "I'm sorry. I'm being a dick. Please don't cry," he finally said.

With a small sob and vampire strength, she grabbed hold of the front of his leather jacket and pulled him to her, snuggling her face into his chest. Damon hadn't been expecting an armful of Elena, but suddenly she was pressed up against him and he finally let himself give in and hold her; just for a moment, he told himself.

Elena's fingers curled into his jacket and she clung to the solid comfort he offered. Her tears quieted down to soft sniffles as his familiar scent enveloped her. She buried her face in his neck and inhaled. Her tummy fluttered wildly. He smelled so good. So Damon; she couldn't stop herself from placing tender kisses along the corded muscle of his throat as he held her.

Damon froze when he felt her soft lips on his flesh. His dick definitely stood up and took notice. "Elena, don't," he rasped.

She pulled back and her big doe brown eyes seemed even more alluring than usual as she met his gaze and held it. "I can't help it."

Her eyes dropped to his mouth and she licked her lips. Her breath was coming fast and hard and Damon groaned. The air was thick with unrequited sexual tension. Damon tried to draw back, but her fingers dug in even deeper and held him there. She was his own personal brand of torture and even though he knew he was going to regret it, he couldn't seem to stop his mouth from descending onto hers.

The kiss was soft at first, a gentle brush of lips, but Elena took him by surprise by launching herself at him full steam ahead. She flew across the tiny bit of space separating them, tackling him backwards into his seat. Her hands were everywhere and Damon growled low and deep in his throat as her lips attacked his own, kissing him as if she were starving, and he was the last meal she would ever get to taste. She climbed right up in his lap, her knees on either side of his hips and plopped her curvy ass down, making Damon groan as she came in contact with the hard on he'd been sporting since she'd entered the kitchen looking so damned beautiful, his jaw had almost hit the floor.

Elena buried her fingers in his hair and held on for dear life as she gave everything she had into kissing him. All her emotions were poured into that kiss and she moaned with pleasure when Damon caved and allowed her access to the warm recesses of his mouth, kissing her back with a passion that rivaled her own.

Their lusty kisses quickly spiraled to a near frenzy. All too soon kisses weren't enough; Elena needed to touch him, feel his bare flesh pressed up against her own. She tore his shirt open and the sound of ripping fabric and buttons flying, snapped Damon back to reality.

"Wait! Wait! We can't do this!" he gasped, panting harshly. He grabbed both her wrists to keep her wandering hands off him. "Elena stop!" he growled, when she began to grind her sexy little butt down on his now painful erection.

"Don't want to stop," she breathed, nibbling at his ear. "Want you…want you inside me."

Dinner was out the window. His shirt was in tatters. He was hard as a freaking rock and Elena was a total hot mess rubbing against him like a cat in heat. But maybe there was still hope to salvage his pride if he could just convince his self-preservation to kick back in and stop what was happening, but it seemed that voice in his head had taken this most in-opportune time to pack up and leave. Elena pulled her hands out of his slackened grip and Damon let out a low groan when her slim fingers found the bulge in his jeans and caressed him through the rough denim. Damon was absolutely sure he should be dumping Elena back inside her house and making a break for it. However, for the life of him, he couldn't seem to find the strength to stop her hands when they unbuttoned his jeans and slipped inside to stroke the steely hard length of his shaft. He hissed softly when she scraped the tender underside of his cock with her nails, sending shivers up his spine. But, when she gripped him firmly and began to jack him off, Damon's willpower crumbled and he gave in altogether.

"Let's go back to the boarding house," he bit out, desperately trying to keep from coming in her hand like a teenage boy having his first car sex experience.

"Can't wait that long," Elena whimpered and to Damon's shock she rose up, moved her panties to the side and suddenly the sensitive tip of his penis was sliding inside her wet heat.

"Elena," he tried again, "we're in front of your house—anyone could—oh fuck!" he cursed as she suddenly sank down upon him, taking his entire length inside her in one swift move. His eyes snapped closed and he swallowed convulsively as her inner walls fluttered around his girth, gripping him like a tight, delicious glove.

"Oh yes!" Elena cried softly, gripping his biceps as his hands went to her hips, holding her and stilling her movements on top of him. But, Elena wasn't having it. Now that she had him where she wanted him, she wasn't giving him the chance to change his mind. She used her knees to raise her hips and lower them; up and down, up and down, until she was riding him hard and fast, desperate for the relief she knew he could give.

"Jesus Elena," Damon breathed as she fucked him into near mindlessness. His hands rested on her hips, guiding her movements while his eyes were glued to where they were joined. Her dress had ridden up, giving him a spectacular view of his cock gliding in and out of her. It was, by far, the sexiest thing he'd ever seen in his long life and he finally admitted he'd never truly be done with this girl. She drove him crazy, but he was head over ass in love with her, and if tonight was any indication, he couldn't deny her anything, up to and including, the pleasure they could find within one another's bodies.

Elena began to shudder above him. She grabbed hold of his shoulders and began to bounce in his lap furiously, all the while making these delicious sounds of pleasure in the back of her throat that drove Damon wild. He slammed his hips upwards, hitting that spot inside that had her throwing her head back and crying out his name in a breathless gasp.

"Come for me, Elena," he growled, angling his thrusts to hit that spot over and over, needing her to come before he did. He did have _some_ pride left after all! Just when he thought he might not be able to outlast her, her eyes widened and her mouth opened in a wordless cry of pleasure and she went over the edge, shivering in his arms like a heroin junkie in desperate need of a fix!

Her body clamped down on his shaft and her orgasm milked his own right out of him. Within seconds of Elena's climax, Damon buried his face in sweetly scented flesh of her neck and followed her over that precipice and into mindless oblivion.

******************D&E*****************

Later, in the afterglow of post-coital bliss, Elena kept her head on his shoulder, content for the moment to just bask in the feeling of being so connected to him again. But as the minutes dragged on and he remained silent, she became nervous. Was he angry? She had pretty much just molested him and she'd done so in front of her own house, where her brother could have easily walked out and discovered them! She was a little mortified at her behavior, but at the same time, she wasn't. They hadn't gotten caught and she'd finally gone after what she wanted for the first time in a very long time. However, he was so quiet, she couldn't help being worried he would act as if what they'd just done was a mistake. She gathered her courage by its bootstraps and faced him; to her relief, Damon didn't offer up a snarky comment. Instead, he seemed almost peaceful as he lay there under her, head back and his gorgeous eyes closed. His thick dark lashes rested on his high cheek bones and Elena took a moment to take in his beauty. He looked content, (for the first time in weeks) and her hopes for a new start rose from the ashes like the proverbial Phoenix.

He cracked open an eye as he felt her gaze on him. "It's not polite to stare after sex, Elena. Hasn't anyone ever told you that," he teased.

She bit her lip. "Are you mad?"

He shook his head side to side. "Mad, no. Feeling a little tawdry…" He shrugged. "Maybe, considering you _did_ buy me for the night."

She brushed a sweaty lock of hair back from his face. "At least you didn't say cheap."

He mock glared. "Bite your tongue. I am never cheap."

Elena thought of the money she'd spent to have her date with him tonight. "No, you definitely weren't."

"Are we regretting busting open our piggy bank, now?"

Elena shook her head vehemently, sending her riotous hair flying all around her face. "No, not at all. I got exactly what I wanted for Christmas…" She said a little shyly, biting her lip again and glancing at him from under her lashes.

Damon let out a short bark of laughter. "You asked for steamy car-sex for Christmas?!" He wriggled his brows at her rakishly. "Didn't Santa find that request a little…naughty?!"

Elena let out a peal of happy giggles. He was teasing her—that was a good sign. "No, he figured it was okay, considering the bad-boy I wanted it with," she replied, enjoying their repartee.

She knew she'd said the wrong thing as soon as she said it, because Damon's eyes lost that sparkle of mirth and his face clouded over.

"That's what I'll always be," he said quietly, "the bad-guy."

"No!" She took his face in her hands. "That is _not_ true. I see the good in you."

His brows lowered and he wasn't laughing anymore. "Does that even matter? I won't ever make the decisions Stefan makes, you understand that, right?"

"Damon, I don't want—"

"No! You need to hear this Elena before you start assigning me the role as hero in your life. That night on the bridge—I would have let the football player die. Do you hear me? I would not have—_respected_—" he air quoted the word, "your decision to die! I would have saved you. I will always save you and if you really want something more than this between us…" He waved a hand at their still intimate positions, "then you need to understand that and accept it."

Her eyes narrowed and Elena's pugnacious spirit kicked in. "Well, I can say the same to you. I want to be with you, Damon. I do, but you need to accept that sometimes I'm not going to like the decisions you make and I may get mad at you for making them!"

Her answer seemed to please him, because for the first time, Damon gave her a real smile. "Good, then we have a common ground to start on."

"Okay, well good, at least we're talking about it. So let's talk about us," Elena said, deciding to face the delicate subject head on, now that he'd thrown the opening salvo.

Damon glanced out the window and frowned. "You know, as much as I love sitting here in my car with you naked in my lap, I suggest we move this party back to the boarding house; so we can talk, without your brother looking out the curtains at us every few minutes."

Elena gasped and her eyes flew to her house. Sure enough the curtain dropped back into place. She made a sound that was suspiciously akin to a squeak and flew off his lap and into her seat, tugging down her dress in the process. "Oh my God!" she cried, "you don't think he knows what we—oh my God!" she said again, wringing her hands and glancing at her house as if she suspected Jeremy would barge out at any minute and paint a huge red A along the side of the Camaro!

Damon fixed his appearance the best he could. At least he was covered, but there was no hope for his shirt. She had effectively destroyed yet another of his favorite button downs. He might have to start buying them in bulk with Elena around!

"Damon, do you think he…uh knows what we were doing?" she whispered, still peering through the fogged up windows towards her house.

"Do you want the truth?" he asked, raising a brow.

Elena shook her head, "In this case, probably not."

"Then no, I'm sure he has no idea what we've been doing out here for the last thirty minutes," Damon quipped.

Elena put a hand over her mouth to stop the nervous giggles that wanted to burst forth at his answer. Damon winked at her and she couldn't help it, she gave a small snort and laughed out loud. "Oh God…I'm never going to live this down," she moaned softly.

Damon started up the Camaro and turned to give her his wickedest smirk. "If it helps you can just tell him you couldn't control yourself around me and my irresistibleness!"

She smacked him on the arm playfully, to which he gave the prerequisite, 'Ouch!', before pulling away from her house and heading back to the boardinghouse.

********************D&E********************

The drive to the Boarding House had been filled with awkward silences as each of them were a bit lost in their own thoughts.

Elena was on pins and needles. Damon had seemed receptive to developing a relationship before they'd left her house, but she had noticed his jaw hardening a bit on the drive and he had been too quiet. Now, she was worried he'd pull a 180 on her once they started to talk seriously.

Elena was right.

Damon was wrestling with his own demons. Just because they'd had amazing sex did not mean everything was hunky-dory! There was still the damned Sire Bond—which made his skin crawl to think Elena only wanted him because she was sired to him! There was the fact that he didn't play by her rules and he probably never would. Could she really accept that about him? Not to mention, that just a couple of weeks ago, Elena had been almost too eager to find a cure and become the girl that chose his brother over him, time and time again. What if they got together and then found the cure? Would Elena take it and drop him like a bad habit she had developed as a vampire?!

All those thoughts swirled in Damon's head. So, by the time he pulled his Camaro into the gravel drive of his home, he was tense, borderline pessimistic and totally confused all over again.

As soon as they were inside the house, Elena headed right for the parlor. She stood there in the middle of the huge room, feet planted, hands on hips and waited for Damon to join her; which he did a moment later.

He headed for the bar and Elena rolled her eyes, but let him make his drink before diving right in on what was bothering him now. "Okay, spill. I know you've convinced yourself this won't work, so tell me what new reasons do you have?"

Damon set his drink down and added some logs to the fire that always seemed to be burning in the hearth. Elena watched him carefully as he stared into the flames for a moment, as if it held all his answers. She worried her bottom lip, becoming edgy at his silence, when he let out a sigh and picked his drink back up off the floor, Elena broached the subject again.

"Damon, we can't work this out if you won't talk to me."

He turned to face her, a pensive expression on his handsome face. "What if Stefan gets the cure, Elena?" he asked, staring at her curiously. "What happens when you take it? Will you revert to your Stefan 2.0 settings and decide I was simply a mistake you made while under the influence of being a vampire—or will your feelings for me still be there?" He took a long swallow of his bourbon. "Have you thought of that? Because I have, and I don't think I could take that. I'd rather not start something that's going to end with my heart on the floor again, getting stomped into the ground." He flashed that Damon smirk that was all snarky sarcasm. "As exciting as that sounds, I think I'll pass, if you don't mind."

"Who says I want the cure?" she retorted.

"You did," he replied wearily.

"No. I distinctly remember saying I didn't want the cure if it meant losing my brother's humanity."

"That doesn't mean you don't want it, Elena. That just means you don't want to destroy your brother to get it, and that's admirable. Believe me, I know," he told her with a sigh. "It's one of the things I love and hate about you—your willingness to sacrifice yourself for the people you love." He flashed a lop-sided smile, "But, that still doesn't mean you don't want it. And that still doesn't mean you won't think this is a mistake once you get it."

For the first time, Elena saw what all her back and forth tugging had done to him. She had never maliciously set out to lure Damon in, but she couldn't deny that once she started having feelings for him, she hadn't exactly discouraged his love for her either.

It was time to make a choice and Elena knew that as well as she knew that tomorrow, she would wake up and still be a vampire. Was she going to embrace her new life or live in the shadows of her past?

"I don't want the cure," she suddenly blurted out, and she was almost as surprised as Damon, to realize it was the truth.

"You say that now…"

"No, I mean it. I don't want it. Everyone else wanted it for me, but I never actively looked for a cure, Damon. The only reason I hated being a vampire was because I was afraid I would hurt people, but now that I can drink from blood bags…" She shrugged. "I'm not really minding it as much." He was staring at her hard as if trying to see if she was telling the truth and Elena met his eyes squarely, wanting him to see the truth. "As a matter of fact," she admitted, smiling softly, "I kind of like having super powers."

He stared for a second, before smirking. "You would."

"Okay, so what's next—the Sire Bond?" she asked. Elena was warming to this now, she was shooting down his reasons for denying them a chance and she was on a roll. She already had this one worked out, so she was ready for his next shot.

"Okay, yeah, now that you mention it," Damon answered, "I think we should talk about it considering you never wanted anything to do with me until it happened."

"That is not true and you know it," Elena shot back. "Or have you conveniently forgotten Denver?"

Damon was surprised she was bringing that up. She never had before. "That was—"

"Me admitting I wanted you," Elena supplied. "I know we've never really talked about it and I tried to pretend it didn't happen, but it did and I wanted you that night…" Elena sighed and admitted, "The truth is, Damon, I wanted you on so many other nights, too. I was just too scared and too caught up in doing what was expected of me to admit it."

Damon collapsed on the sofa, drink in hand and stared at her a little dumbfounded at hearing so much honesty from Elena. "Then why did you pretend like it wasn't important?"

She sat next to him and took his hand in hers. "Because, being with you was so scary," she said. "You were the worst thing for me according to everyone I knew. The last time I did something that was bad for me—my parents died. I went to that party despite everyone telling me not to go…" She swallowed hard. "And look what happened. In my mind, you weren't just a little dangerous, Damon. You were a lot of dangerous and I was scared to accept that I wanted that in my life."

Damon looked utterly stunned. "Is that it?" He almost smacked himself on the head for not realizing it quicker. He suddenly reached out grabbed her hands, bringing her attention back to him. "Elena, you remember now that I met you that night, right?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, and you could have _not_ compelled me to forget the gorgeous stranger I had met that night that told me I loved adventure and a hint of danger! I think I found enough of that in the next year, thank you very much!"

"Exactly," Damon said, "adventure with just a hint of danger. Elena, who does that sound like?"

She frowned. "Damon, what are you talking about?"

"What vampire do you know that has the 'I'm the eternal teenager' adventure button with just the hint of danger attached to his persona?"

Elena was already shaking her head even as she said, "Stefan." She got up from the couch. "You can't be saying that my love for Stefan was because of your compulsion. Is that what you're telling me?"

"No. Not your love. Maybe your initial interest…"

Elena sat down again and stared into the fire. She remembered how her feelings for Stefan had seriously flared when he got so secretive. How she was so much more interested when she started to see a darker side to him. She turned to Damon and slapped him hard across the face. "Don't ever mess with my head again!"

Flabbergasted for all of a second, (it wasn't like this was the first time Elena had let him have it) Damon winced, rubbed his cheek and said, "Okay, so I take it you consider this my fault."

"Yes, I consider it your fault!" she snapped. "What if your compulsion is the entire reason I even gave Stefan the time of day? Do you know how that makes me feel?!"

He winced. "I'm going to go with…not so hot."

She looked about ready to hit him again, so Damon blurred across the room. "Uh-uh-uh…no hitting," he said, leaning against the opposite wall so that he had plenty of room to outmaneuver her.

Elena sighed. "Whatever. It doesn't matter because I don't regret loving Stefan."

Damon could have gone the rest of his days without hearing that, but what she said next, perked his interest double time.

"Plus, if I hadn't of met Stefan, then I wouldn't have met you again."

Damon nodded his approval of that concept. "So are we done with the smack-down now?" he asked, hesitating and keeping a wary eye on her as made his way back to his bar for a refill.

"Yes, but you can't bitch about Stefan anymore." Their eyes met and held. "After all, you can't exactly be mad at me _or him_ anymore, when you might have played cupid in the whole affair, now can you?"

Damon saluted her with his glass. "Touché…" He sipped his drink, but the scowl on his face spoke volumes.

"Don't pout, Damon. You didn't know that you compelling me that night would send me straight into your brother's arms." Elena couldn't resist turning the screws. She'd been pissed about all the compulsion Damon had subjected her to ever since she'd turned and remembered. This was really the first time they'd discussed it.

Damon did not look as amused as she did. "Okay, let's drop that subject," he finally said. "It's in the past and it's making me want to kick my own ass!"

"Fine, let's move on then," Elena said as she got up and poured herself a glass of bourbon.

She was all in for this conversation now. Everything was sliding into place and she was oh-so-close to making him see what was right in front of his face. There was just one more hurdle to cross. Elena was ready for it. She picked up her purse, dug inside for the papers she put in there earlier in the night and perched on the arm of the couch, crossing her legs provocatively and showing just the right amount of panty flash that was sure to draw Damon's eyes like a magnet.

It did, and as soon as she had his undivided attention, Elena brought up the Sire Bond.

"I have a way out of the Sire Bond, _without _you sending me away, if you want to see it," she said without preamble.

Damon dragged his eyes from the toned flesh of her thighs to meet her gaze. His brow shot up at her statement. "Do you now?" he asked, intrigued.

She held out the papers where she'd copied down the Sire and Blood Bonds. Damon took the papers from her hand and quickly scanned over them. His brows drew down as he read the Blood Bonding and how she'd highlighted that part.

"No," he said, handing them back to her. "No way—a Blood Bond? Are you crazy?!"

Elena looked stunned and hurt for a moment, before she got angry. "So let me get this straight," she snapped, getting to her feet. "Things can't work between us because you're convinced I don't love you for real, but when I give you the proof that I love you and want to be with you forever! Then you call me crazy?!"

Tears were beginning to come again and Elena had just about reached her limit on Damon baggage for the night! "I think you're just so insecure you can't see that I love you, Damon and that's your problem, not mine!" she shouted at him and headed for the door.

Damon blurred in front of her, stopping her from leaving. "What-did-you-say?" he breathed, studying her with those penetrating blue eyes.

"I said you're insecure and that's not my problem," Elena snapped, trying to go around him.

"That's not what I meant," Damon growled, grabbing her arm. He spun her back around, maybe with a little more force than he intended, because when he yanked her back, Elena's heel got caught in the carpet and she went careening sideways, colliding with his chest full on. She shrieked and grabbed hold of him as she fell and they both went down on the floor with Damon landing on his back first with an *oomph* before Elena came crashing down on top of him.

They stared at each other, wearing identical expressions of shock at how they'd ended up on the floor, until the sexually provocative position they found themselves in asserted itself. The stunned looks slowly faded and were replaced by hungry eyed gazes.

"Damon," Elena breathed, staring at his mouth.

"Elena," he whispered, hands tightening on her hips as her belly pressed against his erection.

Elena found his sensual lips fascinating as she got lost studying them; and Damon couldn't have cared less about Blood Bonds, Sire Bonds or Bonding over hair at that moment! All he knew was Elena had said she loved him and now she was in his arms.

"Say it again," he whispered.

"Say what?" Elena began and then it hit her. She'd admitted she loved him. Yeah, it had been in the heat of a fight, but she'd finally said it.

"You know what, Elena," Damon prompted, exasperation and nervous anxiety flaring briefly in his eyes.

It was like he was afraid she'd take it back. Elena was determined he'd never have to feel that way again. She cupped his face in her delicate hands and brushed her lips across his. "I love you," she said softly.

Damon let out a growl that made Elena's belly clench with sheer unmitigated lust. "I love you—I choose you. Not the cure. Not Stefan. I choose you, Damon," she said and then gave a high pitched squeal as he flipped them over with vampire speed.

"I'm going to hold you to that agreement, Miss Gilbert," he said, insinuating himself between her thighs and pumping his erection against the apex of her thighs.

"Don't threaten me with a good time, Mr. Salvatore," she replied breathlessly, bringing his mouth down to hers to seal their lips together in a kiss that had both their toes curling.

Damon groaned and finally gave in to his love for the woman under him. It wasn't just for tonight, he was in it for keeps. He broke away from her drugging kisses, but Elena was desperate again. Desperate to have him inside her—it may have just been an hour ago, but it felt like a lifetime.

He quickly divested her of the dress she was wearing and took a moment to imprint her beauty on his brain. She was stretched out under him, eyes dilated with lust, and dressed in only her perfect little matching set of black bra and panties. Damon was about to explode on the spot. He unfastened the front clasping bra with a flick of his wrist and licked his lips as her perfect breasts were bared to his gaze.

"Beautiful," he breathed, leaning down to take one turgid peak in his mouth, while his hand captured her other breast and tugged her nipple, rolling it between his fingers before tugging on it sharply in time with each suckle of his mouth on her other nipple. Elena thrashed under him, writhing out of control.

"I'm going to come!" she gasped, and Damon lifted his head, surprised, but pleased. He immediately switched breasts and gave the same treatment to the other nipple until Elena was a hot mess under him, begging him to make the ache go away.

"I need you," she moaned, bucking her hips upward and brushing the bulge in his pants with her soaking wet panties. "Please…no more. Fuck me!" she panted.

Damon captured her wrists in one hand and pinned them above her head. "You make me crazy all the time—just thought I'd return the favor," he gritted out, tearing her panties off her and freeing his penis all in one swift movement. He gripped his dick and aligned it to her core, rubbing the tip against her to lubricate his entry.

Elena turned her head, exposing her neck. "I want us to be crazy together…forever…" she murmured, wrapping her thighs around his slim hips and pulling him forward.

They both cried out as he slid right in. It was sheer nirvana and they both gasped and shuddered as their infinitesimal problems faded away and their astronomical chemistry kicked in. The utter perfection of their union wasn't lost on either Damon or Elena. This was heaven and neither wanted to lose it.

Elena brought his mouth to the succulent flesh of her neck. "Do it. It's what I want."

Damon pulled back. It was so damned tempting, but he couldn't. "No, Elena. Not yet," he said, refusing to start a Blood Bond with her until he was sure that she was sure. Elena glared, but Damon petted her cheek. "I'm not saying no, I'm just saying it's not right—right now."

Elena relaxed with those familiar words. "Then what are you waiting for?" she asked, trembling, "make love to me already—we only have a few hours of Christmas left and I want to try out at least a few rooms in this house before the night is through!"

Damon froze, before he chuckled out loud. He had never laughed and played with a woman while actually having sex. This was a new concept for him, one he was enjoying experiencing only with Elena. He pulled her knee up higher on his hip and thrust inside her, causing her to gasp and dig her nails into his back.

"Fuck me harder—show me what vampire sex is really about!" she gasped, scratching at his back with nails that left bloody welts along his flesh.

Damon hissed in pain, but it was a good pain and it turned him on. "Was this another wish to Santa?" He was teasing, but when Elena's heels (which he'd never removed) suddenly dug into the tender skin of his ass, urging him on, Damon reared back to stare at her incredulously. "Elena, I'm beginning to believe you might be on Santa's naughty rather than nice list!" He got up on his knees. "But if what you want for Christmas is this…" he growled, tossing her legs over his shoulders, "then by all means, let me give it to you!" And with that, he proceeded to fuck her hard and fast, using his vampire speed at times and showing her exactly how hot vampire sex could be when practiced with the right partner.

Within seconds, Elena was shouting his name to the rooftops as she went spiraling into orgasm.

Within seconds after that, Damon was doing the same.

******************D&E*************

"You know," he said, much, much later, as they were snuggled under the covers of his huge king sized bed, "you could have had me for free if I'd known this was the way you planned on arguing your case for kicking the Sire Bond."

Elena leaned up on his chest and smiled. "The money didn't matter. Tonight worked out exactly as I'd hoped," she said content to just bask in the warmth of having him loving her again.

Damon pretended to act shocked. "So wait, are you saying you planned on taking advantage of me in the front seat of my car?! Where's your shame, Ms. Gilbert?"

Elena giggled. "Maybe not exactly in the car, but the where never mattered; the only thing that matter was that you realized I love you," she told him sincerely and Damon felt the rest of the ice around his heart melt. He had never seen Elena look at him quite like she was right then and he decided he could definitely get used to it. She brushed her lips across his. "The only thing that mattered was that you to let me back in, Damon. I missed you…so much."

"Lena, I never wanted to let you go. I just couldn't keep being the guy you turned to when the shit hit the fan, but left in the dust, as soon as the dust settled."

"I know," Elena replied. "I understood. That was why I wanted to prove to you that what I feel for you is real. It's all me, Damon. It's not the Sire Bond. It's not guilt…it's me and it's you—us, and what we share." She cupped his jaw and Damon got lost in those big brown eyes of hers. "I love you, Damon Salvatore."

He swallowed hard. They would deal with the Sire Bond and Blood Bonds and all other bonds when they needed to. But right then, Damon was finally ready to take the leap and cash in the 'Golden Ticket' he'd been waiting on for what felt like forever.

"I love you, too, Elena," he said just as solemnly.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder. "Thank you for giving me the best Christmas present ever," she said sweetly.

Damon scowled as he suddenly realized he had neglected to really give her anything. "Are you giving yourself presents in my name now, because we were on a break and I don't remember buying you anything—not that I wouldn't have or won't tomorrow and…" For once in his life, Damon Salvatore floundered for words as the woman he loved lifted her head and just smiled dreamily at him as if he'd just slipped a ring on her finger.

Elena let out a little chuckle in response. "You didn't have to buy anything. I asked for you and that's what I got…I'm happy." Elena smirked at him and then laid her head back on his naked chest. "I did all the buying this Christmas." she said, glancing at the clock. "And according to the time, you still belong to me for one hour and twenty five minutes."

Damon laughed in response. "So tell me, Ms. Gilbert," he asked a teasing sparkle in his magnificent blue eyes, "now that you have me…what do you plan to do with me? After all, as you said, I'm still on the clock."

Elena could feel him growing hard against her belly and she sat up to straddle his hips, yanking the sheet away, so that he was exposed in all his beautiful and naked glory. "Well, I did pay for a full night…" she said a naughty little smile curving her lips as she slid down his thighs, placing kisses along his chest and abs, until her mouth hovered just above the weeping tip of his erection. "I might as well get my money's worth," she told him with a grin. "Or maybe I'll just give you a gift—after all Christmas is about giving, not receiving." And with that, Elena took him into her mouth and proceeded to blow the top of Damon's head off with her after-hours Christmas gift to him.

Later, Damon lay awake with an utterly worn out Elena curled up next to him. He thought about how everything had worked out. Who'd have thought Liz's demand would lead him to having the best Christmas ever. Damon decided he'd double Elena's bid and send it to Liz first thing in the morning—after all, Elena was right, Christmas was about giving. Liz had always given him the gift of her friendship and tonight, Elena had given him the greatest of all gifts, the gift of her heart. Damon decided he could give a little more Holiday cheer and for the first time ever, Christmas wasn't just a day to avoid the Mall at all costs. It was the day that Damon Salvatore began to believe that dreams really do come true.

**The End.**

**********************D&E***********************

**Okay guys, so that wraps this one up. I really loved writing this (as you can tell-huh? Lol). It was fun and I was finally able to dust the cobwebs off Musie and write again! Thank you to all of you who have reviewed and followed this fic. Hope you all have an amazing 2013!**

**Jen**


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